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| Blending producing the effect
of an object starting out one color or shade, and becoming another.
For instance, a wizard's cloak that is yellow on the top and dark green
at the bottom will enhance the overall look of the miniature. But
if you only paint a striped base coat, it looks incomplete. If the color
gradually changes from bright yellow to dark green, the effect is
spectacular. By not painting mono colored items, you increase the quality
of the paint job. I have seen clothing, weapons, and creatures painted
this way. They all stand out in comparison to plane base coated miniatures.
So how do you do this?
There are several ways depending on the size of the feature being blended and on your preference. The first way I know to do this, I call Wet on Dry Blending. Start by base coating the feature. Use the darkest pigment that you want on the feature to show. Let this dry. Then, over paint the base coat with the lightest pigment you want the feature to include. Only cover one quarter to one third of the area that you want to be the lighter pigment. Before this coat dries, get a clean, damp, flat brush or makeup sponge and draw the lighter pigment up from the strip. Drag the pigment, don't brush or rub it up. Drag the pigment between the half point and the two thirds mark on the feature. Or you can draw it to anywhere you want the darker pigment to become dominate. As you draw the paint up, less and less will be left by the brush. This causes a graduating effect. You can place the lighter pigment as the base, but the darker pigment can become to dominate and kill the effect. The second I call Strip and Drag. This works on small features well, and is easier for beginners. Choose two or more pigments that start dark and work toward the lighter desired final color or shade. Then place an equal sized strip of each pigment in their graduating color order as the base coat. Let this dry. At this point you can see the line between pigments plainly. Place a fresh coat of the pigment on the lightest two strips. With a damp flat brush, drag some of the lightest pigment from the first stripe onto the next darker or second stripe. Do not drag it more then halfway onto the second stripe. Then place a thin coat of the next darkest pigment over the top half of its base coat. Using a clean, damp, flat brush, drag the pigment from the second stripe onto the third. Do not drag it more then halfway onto the third stripe. Repeat this for each pigment until the last. You should not be able to see the lines between the pigments. I always draw from light to dark. But you can go the other way. To change the look, adjust the size of the strips. Change their size so they also graduate. A wash or glaze over this is a good idea. The third I call Wet Blending with Two, Edge to Edge. This is best when used on larger features. Choose two differing pigments. You will need to work fast as not to let the paints dry before being blended. A blending medium will increase the amount of time you have to work. Start with the darker pigment and paint from one edge of the feature past the center. With a second brush, from the other edge, paint the lighter pigment up to the first. With a clean, damp, flat brush, drag the lighter pigment onto the darker. Quickly and completely wipe of the brush. Then repeat until the pigments blend into a graduating flow. A wash or glaze over this is a good idea. Adjust the amount of the feature covered by each pigment to change the affect. The forth is another variation of wet blending with two, edge to edge. I call it Wet Blending with Two, Inside Out. Just as before choose two differing pigments. Start with the darker pigment and paint from the edges of the feature toward the center. With a second brush, from the center, paint outward with the lighter pigment up to the first. With a clean, damp, flat brush, drag the lighter pigment onto the darker. Quickly and completely wiep of the brush. Then repeat until the pigments blend into a graduating flow. This produces a tie die like or a bull's-eye affect. A wash or glaze over this is a good idea. The fifth I call Wet Blending with Three, Edge to Edge. Although it is very similar to the previous methods, it produces better results. It is also harder to do. Choose three graduating shades of a color or three differing colors. You will need to work fast as not to let the paints dry before being blended. A blending medium will increase the amount of time you have to work. Start with the darkest pigment and paint from one edge of the feature to between the one quarter and the one third mark. With a second brush, paint the middle pigment to between the one half to the two thirds mark to the first pigment. With a clean, damp, flat brush drag the lighter pigment onto the darker. Quickly and completely whip of the brush. Then repeat until the pigments blend into a graduating flow. With a third brush, paint the lightest pigment from the unpainted edge to the second pigment. Quickly and completely wipe off the brush Then repeat until the pigments blend into a graduating flow of color. A wash or glaze over this is a good idea. The sixth I call Wash Blending. Choose two or three graduating pigments. Cover the feature in equally sized strips starting from dark to light. While all the paints are still wet, spray a light mist of blending medium, or clean water (a ten to one mixture of water and flow enhancer works well also) onto the feature. With a clean dry brush, blur the line between each pigment stripe. With another clean dry brush, draw the paint from half way through the first pigment, to half way through the last pigment. Do not repeat unless absolutely necessary. A wash or glaze over this when it dries, is a good idea. The seventh I call Dry Brush-Blending. If you like dry brushing, this form of blending works well. Choose two or more pigments that start dark and work toward the lighter desired final color or shade. Then place an equal sized strip of each pigment in their graduating color order as the base coat. Let this dry. At this point you can see the line between pigments plainly. Next, get the next to the lightest pigment and using a method similar to dry brushing blur the lines between the this pigment and the lightest one. Repeat this between each graduating pigment. Follow this up with a stepped wash and dry brush highlighting. I find it best to draw from light onto dark. The light pigment is affected by the darker pigment but not covered by it. Instead of brushes, I use makeup sponges to draw or drag the paint from one pigment to another. And just in case you didn't get the message, using a wash or glaze over a blending is a good idea. A stepped wash works best over a blending surface. Highlighting after is good too. |
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